Bloggy Break.....

Posting may be a bit lax over the next few weeks. Sick kiddos & a few other things going on have left me a bit on the "emotionally/physically exhausted side."

Nothing serious, thankfully, but I need a bit of time to process this, so don't be surprised if you don't "see" me here as frequently over the next few weeks.

(& don't worry-I'll fill you all in! You know I can't help it! I have to "talk," because it helps me process things!)

Happy Belated Birthday-to ME!!!

Spent my birthday at home-with my family.
One of the best ways to celebrate, in my opinion!

(But, I am not so sure how I feel about being 39!!!! 39?!!? Is this really possible? I know I don't FEEL like it is!)

P.S. Natty is doing better. His RSV test came back negative, & he has had no fever for over 24 hours! However, he is still on the O2 when sleeping, as his O2 levels are still a bit on the low side. Thanks to all who have been praying!

Natty & the "Nose Tickler"

Natty is sick-has been for the last 6 days. High fevers & coughing. The dr's can't really figure out what's going on, but his O2 levels were pretty low at the office yesterday. Now, he's on O2 at home, & this morning, we ran him to get an RSV test. Currently, we are waiting on results from that. Will keep the blog updated as we get more news.
(He calls his O2 his "nose tickler"-cute!)

FFF......."A Day In The Life."

Well, although this is NOT typical of a day in Ruthie’s life, at the close of this post is my absolute favorite picture this week.

& it’s because it’s a perfect example of what it means to give your children their heart’s desire. (& I guess we should do it as often as possible while they are little & their requests are fairly simple!)

Ruth found an empty Rubbermaid box big enough to climb in a few nights ago, & promptly placed all her special blankets & stuffed animals inside.

It must have looked super comfy-because next, she climbed in, too & asked her daddy if she could sleep in the box!

& he said, “YES!”
(My children are lucky, though, because they have a daddy who says “yes” to some pretty fun ideas!)

All this was arranged BEFORE I had anything to say about it.

& you know what?

I am glad, because that is one thing I would probably have said “NO” to.

& then we would have missed this wonderful moment:

(By the way, this is one of my first attempts to use my NEW Photoshop Elements! I like the way it turned out!)

Have you said "yes" to anything lately-& then been thankful you did?

Blast from the Past....

(From a blog entry-with pics!!!!-all the way back in the first month of my venture into the blogosphere!)
This was very funny, in a twisted sort of way:

Yesterday morning, I asked Ana to clean up her breakfast spot, like I always do. She broke down in tears, crying that,"I always have to do ALL the work around here."

She first informed me that she wished she was a princess or a queen so that she wouldn't have to work.

But the funniest thing was what she asked next, tears still STREAMING down her face. She asked, "Are we too poor to have a servant? Is that why we don't have one?"

Oh, it was all I could do to hold back the laughter!! :-)



We had a long chat after that about how important work is to the heart of God. Did you know that work is mentioned in the Bible 717 times? God prepared good works for us to do before the foundation of the world.


Here are some of the verses we talked about:

Eph. 2:8-10:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

She saw that even though we are not saved by works (according to these verses), doing good works is still very important to the heart of God. And, yes, cleaning up after yourself (w/ a good attitude) is a good work.

Anyway, life soon returned to normal, w/out any more complaints on how hard she has to work. As if I really am a slave driver :-). (& you all should be proud of me-I didn't mention once how much work I do EVERY DAY!!)

Hope this gives you the chuckle it gave us!!

Here is a picture of the princess-wanna-be! (Don't we all want to be princesses? )


Even though she obviously needs a little work on applying her make-up, she is still beautiful, don't you think? I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

Love to all!

Kim

Wordless Wednesday.......a TWO WAY trip to Alcatraz-(wink)

(ok.....I know this is *some* words-but I have to explain my hair!

It was sooooo windy! Oh, I give up on "Wordless." Do you see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background? Yes, Dave & I were in San Francisco last weekend!)

My Sins Come Back to Haunt Me…….

Or, “what goes around, comes around……”

When I was a child, I tried some bizarre things to hide food I didn’t want to eat. I think I figured out pretty fast that hiding it under the lip of the plate didn’t work, so I resorted to much more elaborate means.

(My mom, bless her heart, made us eat EVERYTHING on our plates-which today , has made us non-picky adults, but as children made us try all sorts of things to got rid of the food.)

HOWEVER, I made the mistake of telling one of these stories in the presence of my children. (Don’t repeat my mistake, I tell you!)

Last night, the results of this mistake were made clearly evident when I felt something fall on my knee, while it was scooted up under the table, during family dinner-time.

A crispy, half-eaten peanut-butter & jelly sandwich landed unceremoniously on the floor-& promptly broke in half.

The offending party (who shall remain nameless to protect their identity) looked suspiciously innocent (you know that look-“Who, me?” They don’t even need to say anything!)

I pulled the weeks-old sandwich up on to the table, & reached my hand under the table to see what else might have been shoved in the hole where a table leaf should reside (but doesn’t in our table’s case-leaving the space wide open to all manner of possibilities, I guess! Yuck!)

You guessed it! Another sandwich! Or two or three more.

Finally, Dave (my hubby) looked at her (yes, it was one of the girls-Natty is still in a booster & buckled in at mealtimes!) & said, “You get under the table & pull out every piece of food stashed under there!”

This was the pile that finally appeared……After a while of looking at how HUGE the pile was, Dave & I both began to laugh. Imagine how long she must have been doing this!

There is food I recognize from a few months ago, at least!

Yes, this little “food-hiding party” had reached an inglorious end. & I believe the offending child has been sufficiently warned against such activities in the future!

That’s what I get for not being careful who hears my stories!!! (yes, by now I’m sure you have guessed-she learned this stunt from me, her dear mother!)

Have your kids tried things like this? I'm pretty sure some of them have!

This post was created in 25 minutes for Steady Mom's 30 Minutes or Less blog challenge.

Love is......making your family *feel* loved.

Yesterday morning, this is what each family had sitting at their place, each with their own special verse about love:

I didn’t necessarily feel like taking the time to do it, but you know what?

The smiles & the hugs & kisses I got in return were worth all the extra time I took (on a Sunday morning, no less! & we still made it to church on time!)

& yes, after a bowl of cereal, everyone had a cupcake-FOR BREAKFAST!!!

Happy Valentine's Day to the LOVES of my life!

Love is......(FFF)

A weekend away with my honey in San Francisco.

Love is……all the people who made it possible by watching our kiddos.

Love is……missing the kids like crazy-but only when I was ready to go home & see them! (Yes, for the first time in my life, I was able to enjoy my time away without aching to hold them every waking moment!!! I missed them, but I survived just fine without them!)

But, most of all:

I am thankful for the Greatest Lover of all time: Jesus Christ.

"We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us."
1 John 3:16 (New Living Translation)

What does LOVE mean to you?

Thursdays Before the Throne

As the winter winds down here (I hope!) this February……I just get a little tired of cold, snow & darkness. Anyone else out there understand what I mean?



I guess it is something I have never discussed here on my blog before, but I have struggled on & off at times in my adult life with depression. Mostly post-partum depression, but a few other times I have noticed mild depression creeping in.



Now is one of those times. (although, this time I had to have someone else point it out to me)



I am therefore, taking deliberate steps to avoid stepping in to a full-blown case of SAD.



I am trying to exercise. (makes you feel better on so many levels)

I am trying to focus on my kids/hubby. (helps to take your mind off yourself)

Every day, I am trying to get some sun-at least 15 minutes or so. (& this is, perhaps, the biggest help I have seen yet.)



But, really, should I be surprised the sun is so helpful? Jesus, Himself, is the Light of the World & why wouldn’t the thing that helps me the most be a picture of Him.



What a blessing the sun is…..I am so thankful that in spite of the cold & early darkness, Colorado has over 300 days of sun a year!!! & as long as I stay out of the wind, its rays are sooooo warming!



Matter of fact, as I type this, I am sitting on my front porch enjoying some Vitamin D!

The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You have prepared the light and the sun.

Psalm 74:16

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.


Psalm 84:11

Nat......Playing With Papa (my Dad) at Christmas

Ruthie.....Taking on Something New

I Need Some Help.....

I want some photo editing software.

I want it to be fairly simple to navigate, but I would also like it to have "scrapbooking" capabilities, if you know what I mean.

Do you see the new picture at the top of my blog? That is the kind of thing I would like to be able to do-but on a much grander scale.

I figured with all the people participating in this meme, I might get some good imput.

Any suggestions?

(this post was created in about 15 minutes for Steady Mom's Blog Challenge-I know it should have taken much less time-but I was also watching the Kansas Jayhawks BBall game! Hey, I guess that proves something good-I *am* capable of multi-tasking! Ha!)

Ana.....I could just get lost in those eyes!

Thursdays Before the Throne

With over 600 blog entries, I had to do a Google search to see if I had posted this before! (Like I said-I love to blab!!) I couldn't find it, but even if I have posted it before, the words bear repeating & the YouTube video I uploaded is a STUNNING performance!

"I Then Shall Live"

I then shall live as one who's been forgiven.
I'll walk with joy to know my debts are paid.
I know my name is clear before my Father.
I am His child and I am not afraid.
So greatly pardoned, I'll forgive my brother.
The law of love I gladly will obey.

I then shall live as one who's learned compassion.
I've been so loved I'll risk loving, too.
I know how fear builds walls instead of bridges.
I'll dare to see another's point of view.
And when relationships demand commitment,
Then I'll be there to care and follow through

Your kingdom come-around and through and in me!
Your power and glory-let them shine through me!
Your Hallowed name, oh may I bear with honor!
And may Your living Kingdom come in me!
The Bread of Life, O' may I share with honor.
And may You feed a hungry world through me.

Amen, Amen, Amen

Gaither Vocal Band

Happy Birthday to the Love Of My Life.......(one day early)

& to the best husband & provider any woman could ever have!
You make me feel like a queen!

So…..part of me hesitates to post about this-

But, because my blog is partly an online journal of our family’s life-consider this a post for posterities sake.

Tonight was Nat-Nat’s last bottle.

Yeah, I know, I know.

He’s 2.5.

“Probably way too old for a bottle”-fess up, I know some of you are thinking that! (& hence, my slight hesitation with tonight’s topic!!)

But, he was only having one right before bed.

& we have our reasons for letting it drag on this long.

~We had some real “attachment” issues with him when he came home, & I knew one way to work on that was to feed him all his bottles while rocking him.

~He has always been such a small little peanut that we wanted to give him just as much nourishment as we could get in his system.

OK……if I am going to be quite honest-there is also a part of me that is just a bit melancholy when I think, "There will probably be no more need for bottles at our house." He is probably our last baby.

I think this feeling’s pretty common! Please tell me you have felt this way!
20% of me wants all my babies back-for just a few moments!!
80% of me is looking forward in anticipation to each new milestone.

But before I sign off, can I just say, “Would someone please pass the Kleenex?”

(Just kidding-sort of!!)


P.S. To all those visiting my blog from FFF, sorry-I know this doesn't exactly fit the theme....

Another Project......long overdue

Since we married 11 years ago, I have been collecting recipes-like every good wife….:)

I quickly discovered just shoving them in a drawer wasn’t the best solution for organizing them, so made up my own system of organization!

I purchased some of those plastic sleeves that go in a three-ring binder, & categorized the cards, slips of paper & magazine pages.

It was a cheap & easy fix, but at the time I didn’t realize there were systems like that were beautiful & organized-that I could buy!

I finally found one, & I am thrilled with the fact that I can see all the recipes-instead of having them shoved in a pocket.

I also love that this beautiful book is almost like a scrapbook of all those important family recipes.

How do you store your recipes?


This blog post was created in 15 minutes for Steady Moms 30 Minute Blog Challenge.

Do You Like It? Huh? Huh?

How about this new "look" & name?

(I LOVE it!!!)

Keeping Up WIth the Jones'........

With the idea of putting our house on the market soon, a few weeks ago, we began the process of having it re-sided. You can see the old blue under the new green. (& I am super happy, since I have never really been a "blue house" type of girl....)
We want it to look every bit as good (or better) than the houses around us......in this economy, every little bit helps. :)

We got a really good deal on it, since our house is on the corner, & they want to use it for advertising.....